Theatrical Release Date:
November 10, 2023

Who doesn’t love a good burger? When there are tons of franchise chains operating out of North America, much less the world, there are tons to choose from. As for locally owned and operated, there’s only a handful. Some made the transition to being a recognised brand worldwide and others forgotten. For one filmmaker who says he’s the heir to the Burger Baron franchise, the big question is will he have full rights to this name? And that’s led Omar Mouallem to explore this operation’s history in his excellent documentary, The Lebanese Burger Mafia.

Here, he not only looks at the chain’s early days from being a one off fast food operation that has grown beyond its britches. It was born under the entrepreneurship of Jack McDonnell coming to Canada in the hopes of building a new enterprise to rival that of McDonald’s. To expand the operation, he hired relatives to run the many diners across the country, but when he didn’t have any more to depend on, it became a franchise. But pretty soon, that operation collapsed under the weight of growing too fast, and some years later, Rudy Kemaldean “saved it.”

That’s where the question of who owns what came into question. Since the name was orphaned and it was hard to find McDonnell, just who has the legal rights got lost to time and paperwork. The trail Mouallem found is considered mired in mud. As for whom he managed to interview, what’s revealed is not only fascinating but also suspect.

It’s tough to say if either of these former figureheads are willing to shake hands and share the spotlight or shake hands. And as for whom this filmmaker feels closer to, it’s fairly easy to see.

What makes this documentary a true rags to riches story is his goal to find the secret recipe to the sauce used in the making of the mushroom burger. It’s surprisingly simple, if the reveal is true, but that depends on the burger joint’s operator–whether they stay true to it or each operation varies it up. I’ll have to put that to the test though, and after making a version at home by kicking it up a notch with the wild seasonal fungi, I will report back as soon as I can!

5 Blokes out of 5